Andy Granatelli, Indy racing pioneer, dies at 90

"Mr. 500" was unafraid to innovate, and the sport was better for it.

An Indianapolis Motor Speedway legend was lost with Sunday's passing of Anthony "Andy" Granatelli at the age of 90.

Granatelli gained notoriety in the 1960s as an entrant at the Indianapolis 500 where his STP-branded creations, including the famous turbine-powered cars, captured the imagination of an entire nation. Despite Granatelli's rise, Andy and his brothers Joe and Vince had been staples at the Speedway for almost 20 years at that point, turning up at Indy during a period in which facility had fallen into disrepair and the event itself had lost some of its luster.

"When I came to Indy the first time in 1946 the track was mostly brick and weeds were growing in the corners. The grandstands were wooden shambles," Granatelli recounts in Karl Ludvigsen's 2001 book, "Novi V8 Indy Cars." By the time Granatelli's turbine came within three laps of winning the 1967 Indy 500 with Parnelli Jones behind the wheel, he'd witnessed the track's renovation and re-emergence as the epicenter for automotive advancement. In his own right, he had become one of the most celebrated men on Gasoline Alley. Granatelli was one of the sharpest minds in motor racing.

The Granatelli Brothers, with Andy as the ringleader, fit in perfectly at Indy during a period in the great race's history where mechanical innovation and creativity went unchecked. Granatelli earned respect from the close-knit Indy-car community for his efforts to revive the once-successful Novis from history's dustbin. Intense development of the abandoned Novi V8 engine, including the addition of superchargers from Granatelli's Paxton firm, became the family's mission in the early Sixties.

Granatelli commissioned new front-engined chassis from Kurtis and Ferguson to carry the Novi and tried a variety of suspension layouts, four-wheel drive, and every other conceivable idea to remain competitive after rear-engined cars began to dominate the 500. Bobby Unser would qualify the Novi eighth at Indy in 1965, marking the car's final participation in the 500 before it was badly damaged in practice by Greg Weld in 1966.

His leave-no-stone-unturned mindset led to a kinship with the brilliant owner of Lotus, Colin Chapman, whose 1966 Indy 500 entries carried STP sponsorship via Granatelli. And with the Novi project officially parked, the Granatellis worked in secret on a vehicle they dubbed "Turbocar."

Propelled by a Pratt & Whitney jet engine, the turbine was unlike anything the Speedway had seen, and for 1968, Granatelli and Chapman united to build an optimized version of the car. With an excess of speed to offer and another runaway shot at victory in sight, fate intervened once again in the final stages of the race when a pair of fuel pump failures hushed the "Silent Screamers" for good.

Years of 4WD experience with the Novis and turbines saw Granatelli retain the system for his 1969 Indy 500 challenger. When it was destroyed in practice, his driver, Mario Andretti, was forced into a less desirable Brawner Hawk chassis, but went on to score his first and only win at the Brickyard.

Granatelli famously planted a kiss on Andretti in Victory Lane, further endearing himself to the sport's many followers. Even today, Andretti's win is rarely mentioned without the inclusion of Andy's amorous gesture. The Granatellis would stay involved with the Indy 500 and Indy car racing through the 1990 season, but for Andy, the 1969 win would stand as his greatest success in the sport.

Like many of the men who built their lives—and calendars—around the annual running of the Indy 500 in May, Granatelli continued to make the annual trek to the event, visiting with friends and former colleagues for loud dinners filled with humor and an endless array of tall tales.

I saw him as recently as 2011 at a memorabilia show held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, and the wheelchair-bound legend, who was there as a fan, delighted the mob of autograph seekers who packed the walkways to get a glimpse of "Mister 500." More than 40 years removed from 1969 Indy 500 win, Granatelli was treated as royalty by those who revered the open-wheel pioneer.

His 1968 autobiography, "They Call Me Mister 500," chronicled Granatelli's life and career just after turbine engines had been effectively banned by the Indy 500 sanctioning body, and within his writings, his enduring spirit and curiosity is preserved.

As Indy car racing looks to reconnect with the nation it enthralled for most of the 20th century, the final paragraph in Granatelli's book could serve as the inspiration for those who want to bring revolutionary designs back to the sport's spiritual birthplace.

"Because regardless of the handicaps, I'll race again," he wrote. "I don't know. Steam car. Turbine car. Atomic car. Maybe a plain old piston car. Something. There are no positive barriers in racing, just hurdles you have to clear. There will always be an innovative car; there shall ever be progress, no matter what. Racing is developing, slowly, painfully at times, as this new breed keeps attacking and attacking. I'll continue to develop with it.

"The thing is, you must get in there and race. That's what it's all about. That's what makes it happen. Forever racing. Forever the Impossible Dream. Which really means this isn't the end of my story. It's just another beginning."

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